35 Ways to Say 'I Love You' | Joanne (One Shot Series)

Aubergine (Words of Affirmation)

The kitchen was a hive of activity. Dianne arrived home and, rather than dropping her bags at the door, she found herself drawn into the apartment by the enticing smells coming from the stove.

"What are you up to?" she asked, feeling her heart swell as she noticed Joe was wearing an apron. "It smells so good in here."

Joe smiled and put down the wooden spoon he had been holding. "Well, I picked up one of those recipe cards in the supermarket the other day because I thought it looked right up your street. It's a Thai curry with roasted red pepper and aubergine. Sound OK?"

"It sounds delicious. Thank you, Joseph. I don't think you realise how much I needed to come home to this tonight." Dianne slipped her bag off her shoulder and put it on the football table before walking into the kitchen area and wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. "I'm so lucky to have you" she said, kissing his cheek gently. "So lucky."

Joe smiled, turning his head to grab a cheeky kiss before going back to concentrating on dinner. "Why are you so...?" Not having the words, he gestured with his hands to finish his sentence. "Are you alright? Did you have an OK day?"

"I'm fine" Dianne said. "I think I'm just tired."

"Sure?" Joe asked, trying to work out from her face if she was telling the truth.

Dianne shrugged. "I think I'm just having a bit of an off day. I missed you so much. I was hoping all day that you'd be here when I got home. I couldn't bear the idea of being on my own. I just.... A cuddle and a curry will sort me right out."

Joe cuddled Dianne close for a moment and kissed her forehead. "Well, luckily for you my love, I can provide both of those things. If you get a couple of bowls out, I think this is about ready to go."

Once Joe had plated up their dinner, they sat next to one another at the counter.

"Joe, this eggplant is seriously so good. How did you cook it?"

"Eggplant" Joe said in Dianne's accent. "I'll never get over how you say that word. Anyway, I roasted them first before I put them in the curry. The recipe said to chuck them in the oven whole, so that's what I did. Is it alright?"

"Joseph, it's amazing." Dianne took another bite before putting down her fork and turning to her boyfriend. "Do you think I'm losing my accent?"

Joe shrugged, unsure what had brought up that question. "I mean, I guess I don't notice it as much because I'm around you every day. To me, you just sound like Dot. It's only when we watch things back, or when you show me videos from when you were younger, that I notice how Australian you used to sound compared to now."

"I've noticed that I say 'dahncer' now, but I still say 'dance' and not 'dahnce'." Dianne explained. "I guess it's only certain words. It's just weird. You're clearly having an effect on me. You're turning me more and more English."

Joe smiled. "Well, I'm obviously not doing a very good job if that's my plan. You still say 'eggplant' and... what's a pepper?"

"Capsicum."

"It sounds like a Harry Potter spell" Joe said before taking another mouthful. "Capsicum Leviosa".

Deep in thought, Dianne stared out of the window as she ate before breaking the silence with a question.

"Do you think our kids will sound like me? Will they say eggplant or aubergine?"

Joe shook his head and smiled softly. "Is that what you've been thinking about?"

Dianne nodded. "Yeah. I was just wondering."

"Well, I guess they might say eggplant when they're younger and then aubergine once they're in school and picking up more words from their friends. Although, I don't think 'aubergine' was really part of my vocabulary when I was five... or my diet for that matter."

"True," Dianne said. "Anyway, it was just a thought."

The two continued to eat, the conversation switching to how Joe's day had gone. Once they were done, Dianne gathered up the plates and began to tidy up the kitchen. She was unusually quiet and, apart from the random question about aubergines and eggplants, she hadn't really been herself. Joe decided to give her some space to see if that would help and took the basket of clean washing into the spare bedroom to begin sorting it.

It wasn't long before Dianne was in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Hey" Joe said gently, having sensed her presence before he saw her. "You alright?"

Dianne paused for a moment, took a deep breath and began to cry.

"Hey, hey" Joe whispered, dropping the top he was folding and walking over to his girlfriend. Pulling her into his arms, he rubbed her back. "Hey, what's all this about? What's made you this upset?"

Dianne couldn't speak. As soon as she had been left alone in the kitchen, her eyes had begun to fill with tears. She had quickly loaded the dishwasher, before going to find Joe. His arms around her had been all she had wanted all day; clearly, she had needed to feel safe before she could let go of her emotions.

"Right, let me chuck all this washing over here" Joe said, holding Dianne to his side as he used his free hand to move the clothes back into the basket, not caring in the slightest that they would now need to be sorted again. He sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling Dianne down with him, and rubbed her back. Turning to face her, he tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear and wiped her tears from her cheeks. "Can you talk to me?" he asked.

Dianne snuggled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't know why I'm sad" she admitted. "I think... I think I just needed a good cry. As soon as I knew you were home, it just hit me."

"What did?"

"I'm not sure" Dianne said quietly. "Maybe I've been bottling stuff up without realizing. I'm tired, I know that much, and I guess it's just caught up with me. But the thing that tipped me over was you."

Joe sat up straight, clearly worried. Dianne placed a hand on his thigh and looked him in the eye. "I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean more that, when you left me to clear up, I just had this moment where I realised how lucky I am. Like, truly. There are billions of people in the world, but I'm lucky enough to have found the one person I believe I was meant to be with." She took a deep breath. "Nobody else in my life would do the things that you do for me. Well, not someone who isn't related to me."

Joe leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I'd do anything for you."

Dianne nodded. "I know. And I guess I feel lucky because you have a choice not to do those things for me, and you still do."

"It's because I love you, silly" Joe said sweetly.

Dianne sighed and leaned into Joe. "I think I'm hormonal." She looked up as she felt Joe's body shake as he laughed.

"I'd kind of guessed that much when you sobbed and snotted on my t-shirt" he said, shaking his head. "I know you're a crier, but it's not usually for no reason."

"You just keep saying stuff that proves why I love you" Dianne said, rubbing her thumb over Joe's knee. "I can't believe how well you know me. It's like you've taken a crash course and got an A." She sighed. "This is corny, and I know it's because of the hormones, but I honestly can't imagine life without you. I can't... I can't see a world where I'm not this in love with you. Like, to me, our future is all planned out. It's just a matter of timing, but it's all there. The house, the wedding, the kids who say 'eggplant' at home and 'aubergine' at school. I... I can't wait."

Joe smiled and pressed a firm kiss to Dianne's head. "I can't wait for that either. And I am absolutely in love with you, too, you soppy little bean."